Updated 10:57 am, Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Empty lot at Latham Circle Mall Tuesday, April 8, 2014, in Colonie, N.Y. Walmart will open a new supercenter complete with grocery store on the site, replacing a nearby Walmart outlet. It is the first official new tenant for the long-planned shopping center. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

Empty lot at Latham Circle Mall Tuesday, April 8, 2014, in Colonie, N.Y. Walmart will open a new supercenter complete with grocery store on the site, replacing a nearby Walmart outlet. It is the first official new tenant for the long-planned shopping center. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

Equipment in place to start the demolition of Latham Circle Mall on Thursday Feb. 28, 2013 in Latham, N.Y. (Michael P. Farrell/Times Union)

Equipment in place to start the demolition of Latham Circle Mall on...

Empty lot at Latham Circle Mall Tuesday, April 8, 2014, in Colonie, N.Y. Walmart will open a new supercenter complete with grocery store on the site, replacing a nearby Walmart outlet. It is the first official new tenant for the long-planned shopping center. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

Empty buildings at Latham Circle Mall Tuesday, April 8, 2014, in Colonie, N.Y. Walmart will open a new supercenter complete with grocery store on the site, replacing a nearby Walmart outlet. It is the first official new tenant for the long-planned shopping center. (Will Waldron/Times Union)

Walmart will be an anchor tenant at The Shoppes at Latham Circle, the retail plaza being built on the site of the former Latham Circle Mall.

The retailer will open a supercenter complete with a grocery store there, replacing a nearby Walmart store with a limited grocery selection. It is the first official new tenant for the long-planned redevelopment of the site of what was once Latham Corners shopping center, which opened in 1957.

While there is no timeline for the supercenter's opening, Walmart spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said it typically takes 12 to 18 months to complete construction.

Walmart will close its existing store at Latham Farms shopping center when the new one opens. It leases the space, and it will lease the new building, so Henneberg could not say what would become of the current site.

When most of the mall was demolished last year, Regal Cinemas and JC Penney remained. But the movie theater soon closed, and JC Penney hung on for months before finally shutting down in January. That left Lowe's as the sole remaining tenant.

The new Walmart supercenter would bring a fourth chain foodstore to the short stretch of Route 9, with Price Chopper, Hannaford and The Fresh Market nearby.

The site's owner, Grossman Development Group, received a variance last year that would allow a supermarket in a 188,000-square-foot building on the site. A total of 372,000 square feet of new retail space is available, according to the developer's website.

Mark Hebert, vice president of Grossman, could not be reached for comment.

Walmart will occupy 180,000 square feet of space, compared with some 116,000 square feet for the existing store at 579 Troy Schenectady Road.

The move is expected to create 85 jobs while preserving more than 200 jobs from the relocated store.

"Our customers have long been asking us to add groceries to our store because they want more affordable shopping choices," Walmart spokesman William C. Wertz said in an emailed announcement. " We can serve customers much better with an expanded store at the new site. This is a good project for the company and community, and we hope our participation will help ensure the success of a major redevelopment project."